Jim Corbett National Park
Jim Corbett Park is located in Nanital district in Uttarakhand. It was established in 1936. Corbett national park is the first national park in India and the 1st national park in Asia, established during British rule. Originally it was Hailey National Park. After the independence of India, it was renamed to Corbett National Park in the year 1956.
FACTS ABOUT CORBETT NATIONAL PARK
• The core area is home to the Corbett National Park, while the buffer zone is home to reserve forests and the Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary.
• The reserve's entire area is mountainous, falling within the geological provinces of the Shivalik and Outer Himalaya.
• The major rivers that flow through the Reserve are the Ramganga, Sonanadi, Mandal, Palain, and Kosi.
• The park became a part of Project Tiger when the Government of India launched it in 1973.
• The reserve currently covers 1,318.54 square kilometres (509.09 square miles), with 520 square kilometres (200 square miles) of core area and 797.72 square kilometres (308.00 square miles) of buffer area.
• The core area is the Jim Corbett National Park, while the buffer area includes reserve forests (496.54 square kilometres (191.72 square miles)) and the Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary (301.18 square kilometres (116.29 square miles)).
• The park is situated between the Siwalik Himalayas and the Terai.
• The park is well-known for its Royal Bengal tigers and Asian elephants.
• It is home to over 586 species of resident and migratory birds, making it one of India's richest bird regions. The area has been designated as a ‘Important Bird Area' by Birdlife International.
• Dhikala, Bijrani, Jhirna, Sonanadi, Durgadevi, and Dhela are the park's six ecotourism zones.
• The World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature under the Terai Arc Landscape Program protects the national park.
• This programme aims to protect three of the five flagship species, namely the Bengal tiger, Asiatic elephant, and Great one-horned rhino.
• The landscape of the park is varied, with ridges, streams, plateaus, ravines, grasslands, deciduous forests, and pine forests.
• The park is home to 488 plant species.
• There are also many migratory birds in the park.
• It is home to 25 reptile species, including the Indian python. The park also has seven amphibian species, including crocodiles and gharials.
• Corbett also has leopards in addition to tigers. Other mammals found there include the jungle cat, barking deer, spotted deer, sambar deer, sloth, chital, Himalayan black bears, langurs, rhesus macaques, otters, and others.
• The Delhi High Court has urged the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to hear a petition to stop the alleged illegal construction of bridges and barriers within the tiger breeding habitat of the Corbett Tiger Reserve.
Flora:
Corbett has 600 plant species, according to the Indian Botanical Survey, including trees, shrubs, ferns, grass, climbers, herbs, and bamboos. The most visible trees in Corbett are Sal, Khair, and Sissoo.
Fauna:
Corbett national park also has leopards along with tigers. Other mammals found there include jungle cats, barking deer, spotted deer, sambar deer, sloths, and so on.
THE NATIONAL TIGER CONSERVATION AUTHORITY (NTCA)
It is a legal entity that reports to the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change.
It was established in 2005 in response to the Tiger Task Force's recommendations.
It was established under the enabling provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, as amended in 2006, to strengthen tiger conservation, in accordance with the powers and functions delegated to it.
TIGER RESERVES HAVE THREE LEVELS OF PROTECTION FOR TIGERS
The primary line of defence is maintained by beat level forest guards who patrol the inner range on a regular basis.
STPF provides the second layer of protection.
The third layer of protection stems from intelligence-gathering mechanisms in which forest, police, and central intelligence agency personnel collaborate to prevent crimes such as tiger poaching.
After the Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand's Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary is set to get a "Tiger Cell".